Safeguarding policy

1. Purpose and scope

1.1 The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) is a registered charity that has a duty to ensure that all vulnerable people who come into contact with the RCR in the course of its core business and activities do so in a safe environment. This policy sets out the RCR's commitment to protecting the welfare of vulnerable people and the principles that will be applied in responding to any concerns that may arise.

1.2 This policy applies to the trustees, senior managers, all other paid staff, contributors (i.e. Fellows, members and lay people) and anyone else working on behalf of the RCR.

1.3 The RCR does not undertake regulated activity however vulnerable people may come into contact with the RCR through the following activities:

• Admission ceremonies
• Professional Learning and Development events
• FRCR Examinations
• Contractual arrangements involving employees or contractors
• Meetings hosted by the RCR
• Working parties
• Mentoring

2. Key principles

2.1 The RCR is committed to providing a safe and trusted environment to all vulnerable people that come into contact with the RCR. Safeguarding involves a duty of care to everyone who comes into contact with the RCR, not just vulnerable beneficiaries like children and young people.

2.2 The RCR is committed to setting an organisational culture that prioritises safeguarding, so it is safe for people to report incidents and concerns in the knowledge they will be dealt with appropriately.

2.3 The RCR will use procedures and measures to protect people and make sure these are made public, reviewed regularly and kept up to date.

2.4 The RCR will investigate incidents internally as they arise through confidential procedures and report them to the relevant authorities including the police and the Charity Commission when appropriate.

2.5 The RCR will learn from any mistakes and put in place the relevant mechanisms to stop them happening again.

2.6 The RCR has a responsibility as a charity to make sure that Officers, employees and contributors are suitable to work with vulnerable people; that they obtain appropriate checks from the DBS; and that they are legally able to act in these positions.

3. Preventative measures

3.1 The RCR will undertake the following measures to ensure the safety of vulnerable people in the context of College activities:• Risk assessment of activities and consideration of mitigations. This will be managed in a risk register which is regularly reviewed to monitor any changes to the circumstances around any recurring and new activities.

• Formal checks that anyone acting on behalf of the RCR is suitable to act in their role
• Staff training to know how to spot and refer or report concerns
• Have a clear system of referring or reporting to relevant organisations as soon as a concern is identified

4. Raising concerns

4.1 Any complaint raised against anyone covered by this policy will be handled in accordance with the College's procedures for investigating such complaints and with consideration of the College's values and code of conduct. Procedures provide for informal mediation, a formal problem-solving process and appeal against decisions and/or sanctions as appropriate.

4.2 Trustee Board will be provided annually with a governance report which will include a summary of any safeguarding concerns, risks and mitigations. In the event of a serious incident, the Medical Director, Membership and Business will be notified as soon as practicable of the details of the incident, appropriate action to be taken and whether the Charity Commission has been notified.

5. Linked Policies

5.1 Contributors Whistleblowing policy

5.2 Staff Whistleblowing policy (section 9.15 of staff conduct policy)

5.3 Contributor Code of Conduct

5.4 Contributor problem solving policy

5.5 Social media policy

5.6 Equality and Diversity policy

5.7 Complaints procedure

6. Compliance

Everyone that works for, or is a contributor to, the RCR is required to comply with this policy. Any individual that is suspected of or found to not be complying with the policy requirements will be managed under the RCR's Disciplinary Procedure or the Contributors problem solving policy, as appropriate.